Photography

[KingOfPain]

Getting to Yosemite is sort of a pilgrimage for landscape photographers. This is the place where Ansel Adams Roamed. He is probably the single most celebrated and influential landscape photographer, who put Yosemite and the Sierras on the map.

Horsetail Falls is illuminated in brilliant glowing hues of orange and red © Gregory B Cuvelier


The Fire Fall has become the most popular event in recent years. The Firefall only occurs at sunset in mid- to late-February (peak 17-19). During that time, in the few minutes, the setting sun hits Yosemite Valley at just the right angle to illuminate the upper reaches of Horsetail Fall - Weather permitting.

But I am not so sure I am willing to fight this battle.







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[darrelljs]

That's insane. I doubt Ansel had to deal with that.

Darrell

[Mjmd]

For a while in Yosemite they actually used to light fires and push them over, which was also called fire fall. Luckily they don't do that anymore.

Agreed pretty, but wouldn't want to fight that crowd. I do want to go there asap (IE when my kids are no longer super young).

Ever thought of doing Yellowstone? It has some great natural colors in the hot springs and mud pools that you don't find many other places.

[KingOfPain]

That's insane. I  doubt Ansel had to deal with that.

Darrell

In a way a sad thing social media and influencers has done to bring awareness to the masses but destroys some of the more delicate environment.

[KingOfPain]

Photo Manipulation Part III - WIP

A group I belong to held Art Translation competitions once in a while. An Art Translation is for an artist to take another artist's work and create something in their own format/media, a painter trying to paint an image from a photographer, or vice versa. For example, one painter used my photograph Black Sage Dawn of the Haynes Barn below.



And did an oil painting titled Return Of Val Haynes (Painting by Sue Nichole)


However, the biggest benefit we get out of this friendly competition is that we are required to show the Work In Progress, WIP. In that we share how we work, our approaches and hopefully what's behind the creative process.

This is going to be a long post and hopefully you would follow Along. Grab a coffee, turn up the volume and enjoy a few minutes of one of my most favorite song by Pink Floyd (linked bellow).

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So this was my translation, and Work In Progress report from the site.

Pain in Birds - for Sojie 13 WIP
August 18, 2011 Original Red Bubble Workshop
A digital art translation of Pain in Birds by linaji

Pain In Birds - Painting by linaji


I was working with the digital art translation of Fear and Anger when it came to me that I might have something that would work for a digital art translation of Pain in Birds. I have some bird images with that abstract quality in Lina’s image.

I had no idea what the piece was about at first, the fine details were too small for me to make out; and the phrase Birds in Pain was new to me. I googled Birds in Pain and the returns were all about animal cruelty. I then wrote Lina and asked her to tell me about her piece to see if I get it.
This is what she wrote.

“Yes… Pain in Birds is about for me…
the levels of coming from fear and flying free…
Birds represent (to me) …
eggs (birth), nesting (grounding) , and in the grounding and birth so much pain of loss, due to predators, dropping, losing, destruction…
but the ones that get through and are born to the life of ‘birds’ …

FLY FLY FREE….

anyway, for me that was the feeling in my own life as I created this"

I think I get it
There’s pain, but there’s also hope, sadness with optimism.
So I thought of this piece I named Omen. The description of the image reads,
“The birds of Rhiannon Druid legends are blackbirds which sit and sing in the World tree of other worlds. Their singing puts the listener into a sleep or a trance which enables him or her to travel to the other-world. It was said to impart mystic secrets.
I was torn between this and making it more Dark/Dramatic but I settled for this to let the viewer make the choice if this is a good or bad omen."

Omen


At least this sets the mood for me. The blackbird is the messenger, the birds is the message. I would like to offer a glimmer of hope in this translation; and maybe tie it in with animal cruelty if only in a subtle way… and so the working title came. I will call it No More Turning Away – another Pink Floyd inspired title from the song On The Turning Away. Lyrics:

On the turning away
From the pale and downtrodden
And the words they say
Which we won't understand
Don't accept that what's happening
Is just a case of others' suffering
Or you'll find that you're joining in
The turning away
It's a sin that somehow
Light is changing to shadow
And casting its shroud
Over all we have known
Unaware how the ranks have grown
Driven on by a heart of stone
We could find that we're all alone
In the dream of the proud
On the wings of the night
As the daytime is stirring
Where the speechless unite in a silent accord
Using words, you will find, are strange
Mesmerised as they light the flame
Feel the new wind of change
On the wings of the night
No more turning away
From the weak and the weary
No more turning away
From the coldness inside
Just a world that we all must share
It's not enough just to stand and stare
Is it only a dream that there'll be
No more turning away?

So, this is what I listened to, over and over, while I created my piece - Pink Floyd: On The Turning Away


This second image is the main component that will further add to the translation's abstract quality. Some of you might be asking what Photoshop tricks John is up to now. There is no post processing done on this image except tone adjustment. I have been experimenting with motion blur (of the subject, not the background) and panning, and decided to combine the two together.

Shot early in the morning before the day is bright, at maximum zoom with aperture set to lowest F8 and ISO at 80 to give me the longest exposure time, which was 1/5 of a sec. The rest is just luck getting good action and a decent composition while running chasing the flocks.

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Work In Progress #1 - A blending of the two images



I don’t want another dark piece so trying out a different color scheme, and define which parts show through. Note, seagulls are now negative.

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WIP #2
Now to add in the tie to Lina’s title, Pain in Birds, and the underlying meaning of my translation. I kept the blackbird in both dimensions at the same time; and added in the two gliders.

Don’t accept that what’s happening - Is just a case of others’ suffering


It’s a sin that somehow - Light is changing to shadow - And casting it’s shroud - Over all we have known - Unaware how the ranks have grown - Driven on by a heart of stone


We could find that we’re all alone - In the dream of the proud - On the wings of the night


Coming up to the home stretch and having a wee bit problem with the final component…

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WIP #3
I should have provided more info on the statue to provide more context. The statue below reminds me of Artemis the Greek Goddess who prefers nature to politics. … Artemis was also a bird Goddess


The next piece was going to be my final but I am having too much fun to stop now.

As the daytime is stirring - Where the speechless unite - In a silent accord


Using words you will find are strange - And mesmerized as they light the flame - Feel the new wind of change - No more turning away


Final image continued in next post. I tried 3 times and failed to post the entire post.... 

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[KingOfPain]

Continue from previous post, Photo Manipulation Part III - WIP
Read above first.


























FINAL IMAGE
No more turning away - From the weak and the weary - No more turning away - From the coldness inside - Just a world that we all must share - It’s not enough just to stand and stare


It was not easy to choose this as the final translation. No doubt some of you may favor one of the intermediate images over others, as I have a hard time deciding when to stop. The process has come full circle in the way that it started out a basic concept and a simple merging of 2 layers, then more complex (to the point I was afraid I was over working it) and finally back to the basics. I am glad I have chosen a working title before the work started. As I was working on the images, I was hooked by the lyrics and went with the flow interpreting each passage of the song.

As this translation came to a finish, I am already missing the journey it has taken me. It’s been a learning experience. I thank Lina for the inspiration, Sojie for providing the opportunity, and no less, the kind support and gracious encouragement everyone have bestowed upon me. Thank you all!!!


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[RefSteel]

That's an incredible project - and I do find the final image the most compelling of the set. Thanks so much for sharing it with us here!

[darrelljs]

I like the starry one the best but they are all amazing and it's very cool to be taken on the journey .

Darrell

[KingOfPain]

Bokeh

In photography, bokeh (Japanese: boke) is the aesthetic quality of the blur produced in the out-of-focus parts of an image produced by a lens.
The term comes from the Japanese word boke, which means "blur" or "haze", or boke-aji, the "blur quality". The Japanese term boke is also used in the
sense of a mental haze or senility.

The term bokashi is related, meaning intentional blurring or gradation.

Most modern smart phone camera have what they call the Portrait Mode which introduces artificial blurring of the background, that mimics the bokeh effect in dedicated cameras with specialized lenses, larger sensors, and high focal lengths, all of which help reduce the depth of field and blur backgrounds. Some photographers would pay a premium for a lens just to have a smooth (as cream) bokeh effect.

A good bokeh photograph can be quite tricky to achieve since the underlying technique is to use very shallow depth of field so that the "subject" is in sharp focus while the rest of the scene are out of focus. It is easy to miss focus. I put quotation marks on the word subject because bokeh can be used in a way that the subject is not the focus of the photograph.

The wispy hair adds a lot to this bokeh effect









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[KingOfPain]

Bokeh Part II

It is a rather ordinary tulip, far from being in the best shape or bloom among the millions in the field. It only served as an anchor for the bokeh.
The background is why I chose to focus on this particular tulip.



Sonder: The Realization That Everyone Has A Story
The sudden realization that you are a walk-on part in someone else story.




The butterfly in flight is why I chose to use a slower shutter speed instead of freezing it in motion. The butterfly in flight, the mating dance, is the story.






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